Chijioke Okorie

Chijioke Okorie is a leading legal scholar, NRF-rated researcher, and policy advisor at the dynamic intersection of intellectual property (IP), emerging technologies—with a focus on AI and data science—and African development. She is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria, where she is the founder and Principal Investigator of the Data Science Law Lab (DSLL). The DSLL is a pioneering interdisciplinary research group dedicated to developing evidence-based, Afrocentric policy and governance frameworks to support the responsible growth of Africa's digital economy.

Since 2019, Chijioke has received over ZAR12million in grants, donations and commissions from inter alia: Canada's International Development Research Centre; Mozilla Foundation; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Meta (formerly Facebook); South African Competition Commission; CRDF Global in partnership with the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of international Studies, US; Arcadia Group through American University Washington; University of Pretoria; Coimbra Group, Europe; Volkswagen Stiftung; etc.

Beyond academia, Chijioke translates her research into practice as the founder of Penguide Advisory, providing strategic guidance on technology law and regulation to governments, non-profits, and entrepreneurs. She is also a respected international voice on African IP law through her long-standing role as a correspondent for the highly-regarded IPKat blog. Her work is characterized by a commitment to bridging the gap between law, technology, and policy to build a more equitable and innovative future for Africa.